Food Service and Retail Industry FAQs

What services does Mérieux NutriSciences offer for the food service and retail industry?

• Food Safety and Quality Audits
• Food Safety and Quality Consulting Services
• Regulatory Compliance and
• Labeling Support
• Supply Chain and Vendor Management
• Training Programs
• Product and Process Optimization
• Crisis Management and Legal Support Services
• Sensory
• Sustainability and ESG Consulting

How does food sensory testing benefit my business? Sensory testing can help your business gain an understanding of consumer preferences and optimize product development within target markets. Sensory methods aid in menu refinement by focusing on attributes of menu items, such as flavor and texture. We ensure consistency through difference testing, which determines if consumers can detect differences between formulas, batches, or ingredients.

What kind of food safety and quality consulting services do you offer? Food Safety and Risk Assessments provide unbiased evaluations of a facility’s food safety and quality program to ensure it meets the highest industry standards.
Environmental Monitoring Program evaluation and monitoring, including allergen management, food defense, food fraud, good manufacturing practices, hazard analysis critical control points, and sanitation standard operating procedures.

Crisis Management and Legal Support Services protect your brand, customers, and operations from potential harm before, during, and after a product recall or foodborne illness investigation. Our holistic approach provides proactive, responsive, and restorative solutions in navigating and overcoming incident response, including crisis simulations and mock FDA inspections, advanced C-level coaching for crisis preparedness, and comprehensive business continuity planning for recovery. 

How can GFSI certification enhance my business? GFSI certification helps your business ensure food safety and quality across the supply chain, boosting consumer trust. It can open doors to new markets by meeting global standards. Plus, it streamlines operations and reduces risks through consistent safety practices.

What food safety software tools do you offer? At the onset of each new project, we assess your needs and partner you with our most experienced and industry-specific consultants regarding our food safety and quality platforms.

• ENVIROMAP - automates and streamlines your environmental monitoring program.
• QUALMAP - gains complete control over your supplier data
• MYMXNS - a customer portal, designed exclusively for our clients
• Safety Hud - monitors food fraud and safety alerts worldwide in 74 countries and online
• Regulatory Update - monitors new regs published in official journals in 76 countries
• Limit Detector - an easy-to-use tool to monitor and detect your limits of law and export products in only a few clicks and without concerns

How do your regulatory services help businesses stay compliant? Our regulatory services help businesses stay aligned with local and international laws, avoiding costly fines and shutdowns. They ensure your operations meet current food safety and labeling requirements, helping build credibility with both regulators and customers.

What are the benefits of using your third-party audit services in food service and retail?  

• Third-party audits verify your facility’s compliance with current regulations and industry practices through program reviews and on-site observations. 
• Our third-party audits employ a combination of food safety principles, regulatory guidelines, and industry best practices to provide an objective overview of your program.
• Some examples of our safety and quality third-party audits include: Retail and Food Service Audits; Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Audits; Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) Audits; Distribution Centers (DC) Audits; Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) Audits; CDFA Prop 12 Compliance; Packaging Audits; Dietary Supplements Audits; and Gluten-Free Audits.

How can your research project services help my food service or food retail business?  At the Food Science Center, we address open-ended questions and resolve customer issues through scientific research and analysis. Some examples include shelf life, challenge, and validation studies. These studies evaluate the quality and stability of products, verify the effectiveness of food safety protocols, and confirm that a manufacturing process meets the required safety and quality standards. 

Do you offer training programs for food safety in food service and retail?

• Training Programs in food service and retail include In-Person and Online Food Safety Training options, such as customized courses, public courses, self-paced online training programs, and streaming videos.
• Additional options include U-Train Food Safety, which offers short videos to train front-line employees, available in both English and Spanish, covering topics such as allergen awareness and sanitation practices.
• FSQA Pro is a Food Safety and Quality Assurance Professional online training program designed to train the current and next generation of FSQA professionals, offering Level I, II, and III courses and certificates to advance one’s career.
• Some examples of our most popular training programs include:
  • Introduction to Internal Auditing
  • Basic Seafood HACCP
  • Practical HACCP for Food Processors
  • Dairy 101
  • Implementing SQF Systems
  • FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food v2.0
  • AllerTrain™ Courses - instructs food service operations how to better handle gluten-free requests, avoid food allergy-related incidents, and better prepare them to handle such incidents, should they occur. 

How do I get started with Mérieux NutriSciences for my food service and retail needs? Getting started with Mérieux NutriSciences is simple. Contact our experts to discuss your food service and retail needs—we’ll guide you through the proper testing, consulting, and training solutions to support your safety and quality goals.